Mary Pollard

Mary "Paul" Pollard (5 June 1922 – 24 June 2005) was a librarian at the Library of Trinity College Dublin and a specialist in early printed books. Early life and education Mary "Paul" Pollard was born in Essex, England on 5 June 1922. She was the eldest of the three daughters and a son of Richard Payne Pollard and his wife (née Wilkinson). Her father was an Irish emigrant. Pollard attended Hawnes School before going on to study medicine for a number of years, abandoning that just before completing her studies to take up librarianship. She took a position at Southlands Teacher Training College, now a part of the University of Roehampton while she studied for the associateship of the Library Association. Career Pollard came to Dublin in 1957 to take up two part time positions, one at Marsh's Library and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Marsh's Library could not pay her a full salary, instead provided her with a flat under the library, which was notoriously cold, where she lived for the rest of her life. She kept these two jobs for 8 years, until she took up a full time post at Trinity. Throughout her career her specialism was in early printed books, becoming the designated rare book librarian at Trinity in 1964. Her research and dissertation for the fellowship of the Library Association was titled The woodcut ornament stocks of the Dublin printers 1551–1700 with lists of unsigned works identified as from their presses for which she received distinction. She was in charge of the department of older printed books, which was housed in the reconstructed east pavilion of the Old Library, which opened to readers in 1968. This department initially handled books from pre-1800, but went on to cover the entire contents of the Old Library and Gallery which included 19th century material. Pollard oversaw an overall improvement in the library's antiquarian books with relatively little funds. She identified gaps in the library's collections on 18th century English literature, drama and language, as well as Irish political, economic and social works, and sought to fill these. When funds were available she directed the purchase of collections such as that of Jonathan Swift and related objects at the T. A. Hollick sale at Sotheby's in 1976 with money from the trustees of the estate of Alfred Chester Beatty.